


Perfect End to An Imperfect Evening

by Eryiss



Category: High Rollers DnD (Web Series)
Genre: Accidental Flirting, Aerois Campaign, Buckets of sweetness, But he is only mentioned, Calus is a bully, Comfort, First Kiss, First Meeting, Fluffy, Gentle Conversation, Human AU, M/M, Minor Hurt, Modern AU, No Angst, Set Mainly In a Chip Shop, Soft Boys, meet cute, prom au, very british
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24251959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eryiss/pseuds/Eryiss
Summary: Lucius had high expectations of his prom. He wanted it to be a nice ending to the horridness of high school. But of course that couldn't happen, and he finds himself humiliated and walking the streets of Gustheaven at night. And then he meets Quill, an employee of a small chip shop, who helps him out and turns his night around.
Relationships: Qillek "Quill" Ad Khollar/Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Perfect End to An Imperfect Evening

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, I wanted to write something that was purely fluff, and this is what happened. I really hope you like it, and I might consider writing a follow up fic if anyone is interested.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. And I've got a [Tumblr.](https://eryiss.tumblr.com/)  
> Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.

_**Perfect End to An Imperfect Evening** _

Everything happened so quickly, one could hardly believe it all occured in such a short time.

One moment, Lucius was standing at the confectionary table, looking over the food provided by the prom committee. The next, Calus Starbane – known as the closest thing to a bully Gustheaven Highschool had – bumped into him. Though entirely Calus' fault, he blamed Lucius and called him an unnecessarily hurtful name, which affected the blonde more than he wished.

Aila had stepped forward defensively, and Nova had said his name in a voice equal part weariness and warning. Calus challenged Lucius to defend himself rather than have others do it for him, Lucius attempted a reply and stumbled over his words. Calus laughed a taunting laugh, Aila pushed his shoulder in an attempt to stop him from doing more. He shrugged her off, looked to Lucius, and went for a low comment about Lucius' recently departed father.

"You're not as imposing without daddy to get you out of trouble, are you?"

Lucius had taken a step forward, not knowing exactly what he intended to do. Calus clearly saw the split-second hesitance, as he laughed and pushed Lucius' chest. When Lucius didn't move, he did it again. This time with more force. Lucius fell over his feet, stumbling back. Calus pushed him again, grinning now.

The blonde fell backwards, onto the table of food. He was vaguely aware of cupcakes cushioning his fall and smearing over the back of his suit. That feeling was quickly forgotten when the folding table collapsed under his weight, taking him with him. A large bowl of punch fell atop him, drenching the front of his suit with the red liquid. It was cold, and hit him with a shock, and all he could do was look up at everyone who was looking at him. Some snickered, but most looked on with a grimace of pity. Calus was laughing.

He could somewhat remember Aila stepping forward again, this time clearly intending to attack Calus, with only Nova to pull her back; the taller woman struggled against her grasp. Lucius moved without thinking, walking through the crowd of people who parted for him and out of the gymnasium where his prom was being held.

How long he had been walking, he didn't know. He also didn't know where in Gustheaven he was.

It was an unfamiliar place, and no doubt if anyone saw him they would notice how out of place he was. He wrapped his purple blazer tight around him, as the punch had made his white shirt slightly transparent. He didn't know how much of the cupcakes' icing remained on his back and didn't quite care.

High school had been awful. With only Aila and Nova as his friends, he had always been an outsider. It had been a stressful five years filled with too much work, judgement, and the pressure of being the son of a businessman. The last year had been the worst, and he just wanted it all to be over. Tonight was meant to be an end to it, a somewhat sweet memory of having fun with his friends that would give him one nice image of his time in school.

But instead, he had been embarrassed publicly. And now he was lost.

He pulled out his phone, which had apparently been waterlogged by the punch to the point of it not working; it was advertised as waterproof, which was clearly a lie. It was late at night and, although he could look after himself better than people gave him credit for, he didn't want to walk the streets all night. How he would avoid that now, he didn't know.

"Hey," A voice said, bringing his attention from his ruined phone. "Are you okay?"

Lucius turned to look across the road. Standing there was a man around his age, with scruffy brown hair and a concerned look across his features. He was looking at Lucius, so clearly was addressing him. Lucius blushed a little, nobody had spoken to him since he had left the gymnasium. To have attention brought upon his state of disarray was embarrassing.

"I'm fine, thank you," Lucius assured him, intending to walk on.

"You sure?" The man continued. "Because you're shivering, you're alone at midnight, and, well, I mean I don't want to judge you, but I did just see half a squashed cupcake just fell from your…" He nodded awkwardly towards Lucius' rear, which made the blonde flush further.

"Just a bad night," Lucius confessed.

"Do you want to maybe come in," The man offered, nodding to the building behind him.

Lucius looked up to see a large Chip-Shop named Stormchaser Chips. The lights were off, so it was clearly closed. When he looked back to the man, he saw that he was holding a key, so he was clearly an employee that had been trusted to close it for the night. Lucius' immediate reaction was to politely decline, but the night chill and wet clothing was starting to affect him, and perhaps he could use a phone to call a taxi home.

"Are you sure?" Lucius asked, frowning.

"Of course, hold on," The man smiled.

Lucius quickly crossed the road, watching at the man started to unlock the door. A streetlight gave Lucius a better look at the man's face, and he could see a dusting of freckles covering his cheeks and neck, a rather cute accompaniment to his ruffled brown hair. He was a little shorter than Lucius, rather skinny too if his coat was anything to go by.

Oh, one of his sleeves was empty. Did he only have one arm?

"Sorry, my boss is a little security conscious, has more a few locks," The man laughs as the door opened, flicking on the lights. It was a simple place, with a small seating area tucked in the corner, but it was clear most people used it as a take-away. "You can take a seat, if you want."

"Thank you," Lucius smiled a little. He took a seat at one of the metal chairs, the heat of the room comforting him. Under normal circumstances, he might have worried about the scent of fried food sticking to his clothes, but they were more than ruined already. "I'm Lucius, by the way. Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto."

"Quill," The man replied. "Well, Qillek actually. But I prefer Quill."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lucius smiled. "And thank you so much for letting me in, I probably would have wandered for hours if someone hadn't stopped me. Are you sure you don't mind me being here, it looked like you were leaving?"

"Don't worry," Quill smiled. "Probably would have just gone home and watched something on TV until I fell asleep, so you're not keeping me form anything," He laughed a little, then looked at Lucius. He paused for a moment, obviously thinking of what to say. "Could I get you anything?"

"Do you have a phone I could use, please. I should get a taxi."

"Oh, of course," Quill smiled.

He disappeared into a back room for a moment, and then came back with a wireless landline that was probably the business phone. Lucius took it with a thankful smile, before frowning at the realisation he didn't know the number of a taxi company. Quill apparently had expected that, as he handed him a small card with a phone number and the title 'Airship Taxis'. Lucius looked at the man with a small scrunch in his brows.

"We get a lot of drunk people here at the end of the night, it's good to have the number ready. It's a reputable place, don't worry," He smiled. "I'm gonna make a cup of tea, d'you want one."

"What bags do you have?" He asked, cussing himself in his mind. He shouldn't be picky; Quill was being kind.

"Yorkshire, Peppermint, Earl Gray, and Blueberry," Quill listed, counting off on his hand.

"Oh, really? I didn't expect-" He cut himself off. "Blueberry, please."

"Sure," Quill smiled.

Lucius watched as Quill walked back into what he assumed was the staff breakroom. The blonde dialled the number on the card, held the phone to his ear and waited for a response. When he got one, he spoke to the person on the end for a short while, and was told he'd have to wait around an hour for the taxi to arrive; ironically, because of the prom he had left, the company was busy. He knew he couldn't ask for more, so was gracious.

Once that conversation was over, he dialled another number. Looking at the clock in the room, he had left the prom just shy of an hour ago, and the walk from school to his home took twenty minutes. His friends would have called his house to make sure he was okay, and they were probably worrying about him. He called Nova, she was probably worrying then most. She would also answer an unknown number, which Aila wouldn't.

"Hello?" Nova's voice asked through the crackly receiver.

"Nova, it's Lucius. I just-"

"Oh my god you're okay," She cut him off, speaking fast. "We were really worried about you, jerk! Are you okay, I'm sorry Calus did that to you? Aila hit him if that makes it any better. Wait, where are you, I called your sister and she says you haven't come home. And why aren't you using your phone."

"Nova. Nova," Lucius interrupted, knowing how long this could last. "I'm fine. Still a little embarrassed, but not hurt. My phone's broken, thanks to Calus, so that's why I'm using this one. And I'm fine, I'm at a fish and chips shop, and I've ordered a taxi to take me home."

"I'm glad you're okay," Nova said, calming down a little down. "You're at a chip shop? Are you just waiting there? Are the owners okay with that?"

"Well, it was being closed down, but the person who works there let me wait. So it's okay."

"You're with a stranger?" Nova sounded a little uncertain.

"I'm fine, Nova," Lucius assured him. "He seems very nice; he's making me a cup of tea. He's quite cute, actually," Lucius realised his admission after he said it, and looked to see that Quill was still out of earshot. "Ignore that. Call my sister and tell her I'm okay. Bye Bye."

He hung up on her before the teasing could begin.

It took a few minutes until Quill came back, and Lucius absently looked around the small eatery he found himself in. He mindlessly scanned the menu printed above the kitchen; he scrunched his face up a little at the deep-fried mars bar. That wasn't something he would have seen in any of the restaurants he had frequented.

"Here you go," Quill's voice tore him away from the menu, and the man placed two mugs on the metal table they sat on. "Feeling any warmer."

"Yes, thank you," Lucius smiled, cupping the steaming mug of tea. "I'm really sorry, but the taxi company said it would be around an hour to get here. I can wait outside, so you won't have to stay here with me for that long. You must be tired by now."

"I can wait," Quill shrugged. "I've got a day off tomorrow anyway, so it's not like I need to get up early," Lucius watched as his smile turned into a somewhat mischievous grin. "And that'll give me enough time to get the story out of you."

"Story? I don't know what you mean," Lucius lied, voice getting a little higher.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Quill assured him with a laugh. "But it's not every day I see a guy in an expensive suit walking around, with his shirt drenched and red and his jacket and trousers covered in icing. You can't blame me for being curious."

"I suppose not," Lucius admitted.

Seeing it as the least he could do in thanks, Lucius began to relay the tale of what had gotten him there. He left out some details, mainly that the taunting of his father was what sent him over the edge, but was relatively honest about what had happened. He began to blush as he spoke, the absurdity of what happened making him even more embarrassed.

It didn't help that Quill had removed his coat, showing that he rolled his sleeve up and showed off a delightful bit of forearm. Tempting devil.

Once he had finished explaining his exit – and was reminded of just how many people saw it and would be talking about it – his gaze was directed at the table and unmoving. He had expected Quill to laugh at him, but there was silence. He glanced up to see an expression of mixed annoyance and sympathy. An odd combination of emotions.

"I'm glad your friend punched him," Quill said. "Should have shoved a cupcake in his face as well."

"I think that might have made it worse," Lucius said with a little laugh. The idea was a funny one though.

"Suppose," Quill shrugged a little. "I'm sorry your night wasn't everything you wanted it to be."

"I shouldn't have had such high expectations," Lucius said passively. "Everyone says that prom is a big let-down. I should have listened to them and not put it on a pedestal. It's my own fault; the disappointment part of it, at least."

"You shouldn't have to worry about being pushed into food on any day, let alone your prom," Quill frowned, before his eyes widened. "I should get you a towel."

Lucius watched as Quill shot up from his seat and rushed towards the staff room again. The blonde watched him with furrowed brows, only for a second realising that Quill was probably intending to get him the towel to dry of his still soaking shirt; the heat from the tea had made him forget about the coolness of his clothing. A moment later, Quill returned with a clean white towel.

"Sorry, I should have got you one earlier. Didn't think," Quill apologised, holding the towel out.

"You really don't need to apologise, you've already done a lot for me," Lucius assured him.

Taking the towel, he opened his blazer and began to pat down his reddened shirt. It was still sticky and the red stain didn't seem to be leaving, but at least it was no longer dripping now. He sighed a little, this entire outfit had been rather expensive, and it felt like a waste now. If he could have kept it clean, he could at least use it again.

"Would you mind if I tried to wipe off the frosting with this as well?" Lucius asked, looking up. "I can clean it or pay for it if it needs to be replaced."

"Oh, that's fine."

Lucius stood up and began to swipe at the icing that clung to his back. He knew that his clothing was beyond rescuing, but that didn't mean that he wanted to keep it there for the rest of the night. He glanced over his shoulder back at the window, seeing his reflection. There was a line of frosting covering the middle of his back, where he couldn't reach. He tried a few more times, before sighing and looking towards Quill.

"I'm really sorry, and I know I'm asking a lot of you already, but could you maybe help with this," He sighed. He didn't like relying on people this much. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, its fine," Quill smiled.

Lucius handed Quill the towel, and felt him gently patting down his back a moment later. His touches were soft, and in the reflection of the window he could see Quill biting his lip with a level of concentration that the task didn't really require. A smile fought onto Lucius' lips; his admission that Quill was cute had just been reaffirmed.

Quill looked up a moment later, and their eyes met in the reflection.

They both were hit by the subtle intimacy of the situation. Quill was gently sliding his hand over Lucius' lower back, in a comfortable silence that both were enjoying. Lucius couldn't help but notice that, with Quill's slightly small stature, he could easily bury his head in the crook of his neck without much movement. It would be rather nice to feel that; his nose nuzzling his neck.

Before he could be embarrassed by the inappropriateness of the thought, a sound cut through the silence.

Quill's stomach.

That caught both of their attentions, and any romantic undertone that Lucius had convinced himself existed suddenly went away. Even in the reflection, Lucius could see how Quill's face erupted in a blush under his many freckles. Again, it was unfairly cute.

"I'm so sorry," Will apologised, despite not having done anything wrong. "I haven't eaten dinner yet," At that, Lucius turned around with a frown. It was midnight; he should have eaten by now. "I work late most night, my body clock is wonky. I'm normally eating by now."

"Oh, okay," Lucius nodded.

"Would you," Lucius began, voice a little hesitant. "Would you like something to eat," He nodded to the kitchen. "I don't have much in at home anyway, so I might as well make myself something. And it sounds like you didn't get to eat at your prom, so maybe I could make you something. You don't need to pay, my boss isn't the most vigilant with what we have in stock, so she won't notice."

"Oh, well, erm, I don't want to put you into any more trouble-"

"It's no trouble. I'll make myself something, and if one machine is turned on then they all are. They're not great, but the food is nice."

"If you're sure," Lucius said, still a little uncertain. "What do you recommend?" At his question, Quill frowned and looked towards him. "I- I've never actually had fish and chips before, not like this at least. I mean, I've had it at restaurants, but I've never been to somewhere like this. Not that this isn't lovely."

He shouldn't have spoken. He knew he was spoiled and knew the reaction he would get. It was always the same, people thought less of him, they judged him and assumed he was looking down on them. It was why he was unlucky in finding friends.

"Really?" Quill asked, and Lucius nodded shyly. "I'm so glad you said that."

"What?" Lucius snapped his head towards Quill, who was smiling now. "Why? Don't you think it's weird?"

"No, eat what you want, not anything to do with me," Quill smiled. "And it's good because I'm starving, and if you don't know what you want then the only thing I can do is cook you one of each of the main dishes we serve. And if I happen to eat quite a lot of that food, then that's just what fate wants of me."

Lucius laughed, partly out of amusement and partly out of relief. Many potential friendships had been ruined when he had unintentionally showed how different his life was to most people. But Quill had taken it in his stride, very much like Nova and Aila had when they had found out.

Though, he hadnt developed a puppy crush on either of them.

"Well, it's not our place to fight fate," Lucius laughed, and Quill nodded.

"I'm glad you agree," Quill smiled.

A moment later, Quill was behind the counter and switching on the machines. He was wearing an apron that was unfairly cute on his slim frame and cutting up potatoes with an efficiency that Lucius doubted he would be able to replicate; cooking wasn't something Lucius ever excelled at, though not for lack of trying. But Quill seemed in his element, and it was a sight to see. The blonde found himself almost mesmerized by the sight.

The cooking took about twenty minutes, but it rushed by. They spoke almost constantly, but Lucius couldn't remember anything that was said. It was the level of comfort that rarely came natural to Lucius; he was sometimes too concerned about what people thought of him. But that didn't seem to be a problem now.

"Here we go," Quill said as he finished cooking. "I realise now that I might have cooked too much."

Lucius had to agree. On the table there was a large portion of chips between them both. A jumbo sausage and a battered sausage to the left of the chips, two servings of fish to the right. They had a tray of doner meat, some chicken nuggets, and a steak pie scatted around. There were also small sachets of various sauces and three polystyrene pots, which Quill opened.

"This is gravy, that's baked beans, and that is curry sauce," Quill said as he sat down. "Which I only put out because I have to, despite the fact it tastes like vomit."

Peering down at the aforementioned curry sauce, Lucius tilted his head. He was rather fond of curry itself, and the sauce must be at least a little bit like it. He cautiously dipped the tip of a finger in and brought it to his lips, licking it off. He didn't notice Quill blush at the action.

"See," Quill said, trying to forget the unintentionally attractive action. "Horrible."

"I actually rather like it," Lucius admitted. "Sorry."

"Well, I suppose everyone has to have at least one flaw," Quill laughed, and Lucius couldn't help but notice the compliment under the words. He smiled a little, without the desire to fight it. "Tuck in."

"Do… do you have any cutlery?" Lucius asked. A dab of sauce he could deal with, but not all the grease.

"Erm," Quill said, leaning over to a small plastic tub. "This is the best I can get you."

Lucius took the small wooden fork with a smile, prodding one of the many chips. Despite what many people expected of him, he wasn't spoiled to the point where he was terrified of trying new things. He dipped the chip into gravy and then brought it to his lips. It was unhealthy, the ingredients were probably very low quality compared to what he normally ate, and it was amazing. His eyes most probably dilated at the taste, and he continued to eat with vigour. Next was some of the fish, which was equally great. Then some doner meat, then one of the chicken nuggets, then some fish, then a chunk of the pie.

He could feel Quill's eyes on him, watching him with a lazy and amused smile on his features. When Lucius started to test out different combinations of the food – chicken nuggets, doner meat and gravy on a singular forkful was an ungodly but amazing combination – Quill began to eat as well.

As they ate, they kept talking. Lucius asked Quill about his life, finding out that he was studying to become a nurse at the local student hospital, and that working at the chip shop was a way to get some side money. Lucius jokingly asked what his professors would think about all the junk-food they were eating. Quill had said everything was fine in moderation, an argument discounted when Lucius looked at the spread of food before them. Quill laughed, blushed a little and promised he'd go on a long run the next day.

Lucius spoke about himself, too. He said he was going to attend business school, but considered himself something of an artist. After some prompting, Lucius loaded up his Etsy store on Quill's phone to show him his portfolio. They were all abstract, mainly made out of weird patterns. Lucius enjoyed paintings, and the colours were fun to play with.

They didn't finish the food, of course, and ended up also taking a can of Coke each to help wash down the meal. Just as Quill was stuffing their discarded food into a bin, Lucius felt an urge to speak.

"Thank you, Quill," He said, looking towards the man. "Tonight would have been really rather rubbish. I mean, I'm still embarrassed. And I know people are still going to talk about it, might make any school reunion a little awkward. But, well, honestly this was nicer than I thought the prom would have been."

"Well, I'm glad I could help," Quill smiled. "Honestly, I'm glad it happened too. A customer yelled at me in my shift. They thought I put tomato sauce on their chips when they asked for it clear and wouldn't believe me when I told them I was working on another order. If I went home, I probably would have fixated on it all night, but now I'll have this to think about," He shrugged, blushing again. It was a lovely sight. "This has been a really nice night."

"Maybe we could meet up again," Lucius said with enthusiasm, smiling. "I mean, I'd like to. You're really nice, Quill. I like being around you."

"I like being around you to. Hold on," Quill reached for a napkin, scribbled down his number and handed it to Lucius. "For when you get a new phone."

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that," Lucius laughed, taking the napkin and sliding it into his breast pocket. "I know where I could take you; there's this amazing coffee shop that has the most amazing milkshakes. I could get you one as a thank you. If you want, of course. We don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"No, that sounds nice," Quill smiled. "I haven't had a milkshake in years. Well, I had one from McDonalds a few months ago, but I expect it might be a bit different from what you're thinking of."

"Maybe a little bit," Lucius laughed.

As he went to speak, he saw Quill's gaze look past him and out of the window. A car had pulled up, with the logo of Airship Taxis on its side. It had pulled up on the kerb and the driver looked towards the shop window, so it was clearly the one Lucius had ordered for himself. If he was honest, he was a little disappointed that the night with Quill was over, but at least he had the promise of meeting up again.

"I shouldn't keep him waiting," Lucius said, and Quill nodded. "So, I suppose I'll see you soon then."

"Yes," Quill nodded with a smile. "Hopefully not too long."

"Hopefully not," Lucius agreed, waiting a moment before standing up. "Right, goodbye Quill."

"Bye, Lucius."

Lucius walked to the door of the chip-shop. As he walked through the doorframe, he found himself stopping to look over his shoulder at the man who had made his evening into something he could always look back fondly on. Quill was looking at him with a soft, unfairly endearing smile, perhaps wondering what was stopping Lucius from leaving. Lucius asked himself the same question; his stomach was flipping. He knew why he was hesitating, knew what he wanted to do.

_'Daddy always told me to be brave.'_

He walked back into the chip-shop briskly, and towards Quill. They were close, and he gently placed a hand on Quill's waist. His heart thudded so hard he could hear it and nerves flooded him, but he didn't stop. He leant forward, tilting his head slightly, and could see Quill do the same.

Their lips pressed together gently.

It was a chaste kiss, and only lasted a few seconds, but it was more than enough. It felt like magic coursing through his veins, all stemming from the soft but chapped lips of the man before him. It was incredible, and Lucius adored the feeling.

When he pulled away, he was blushing furiously; Quill was too. They looked at each other for a moment, and Lucius ducked his head a little shyly.

"Do you still want to get those milkshakes?" He asked, as good as offering the man a date.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Quill nodded. "I'd like that a lot."

"Good. Great. I'll, erm, I'll text you when I can," Lucius smiled, cheeks still red. "Seen you soon, I hope."

"I hope so too," Quill said, a little shyly.

Lucius beamed, gave a little wave, and retreated to the taxi before he could mess something up. When he sat in the back seat and looked towards Quill, he saw the man gently touching his lips with a soft smile, and it made Lucius' heart flutter. Even with what Calus had done, prom had more than exceeded his expectations, even if in a completely different way than he had expected.

All in all, this had been a good night.


End file.
